Our Reasons For Repealing Prohibition

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irst of all, Let’s just clear the air here. We at Evergreen Culture consume cannabis regularly. As Washington residents, it is now legal for us to do so. But, come on, we did it when it wasn’t legal. We make this obvious confession (we run a website that is dedicated to representing marijuana as a mainstream part of our culture) because we want everyone to understand that we do not want cannabis legalized so we can get “high”. Whether it is or isn’t hasn’t mattered to literally 100% of the people who enjoy it currently, including us. So, if your response to marijuana legalization is, “oh, they just want to get high”, the problem is: They already are! That is the wrong argument if you want to continue holding the opinion that it should remain illegal. So, if our reasoning isn’t that, what is it? Well, We have put a lot of thought into this for quite a while. And, we believe, when you look at the overall big picture there are all kinds of reasons that would support the need to finally, once and for all, repeal the prohibition on cannabis. Our personal stance really came to rest on two particular pillars: the medical reality of cannabis and the potential resource increases and reallocation.

We think that, at this point, if you argue against the idea of cannabis having medical value, you have ceased allowing your view to be challenged by modern, medical, scientific understanding and have chosen to remain in some kind of dark-ages mentality. This incredible plant is being studied by people who are not bringing preconceived biases or government/corporate money to the work. And the studies, time and time again, come back with not just positive data, but results and findings that are even called “miraculous” by the more dramatic. If your answer to the marijuana question centers around thinking that we are so smart and so much more advanced that we now understand it isn’t medicine but a “drug”, think about this. If you go back to 2900 BC (the first mention of cannabis being used as medicine in China), we are living in the only time period where the idea of cannabis’ efficacy as medicine has been questioned. Even after the prohibition of marijuana in the United States, chapters on cannabis’ use as advanced medicine were a part of medical school textbooks all the way into 1940s. Meaning medical doctors understood that it was useful, helpful and had a long history of safe and effective application. And then as you dig deeper, you find that, not only is this flower – it really is just a plant that grows a flower – not harmful, dangerous, addictive or a social menace, but it is yielding more and more amazing medical results that have evaded modern science to date. Cancer tumors shrinking. Cancer going into remission. AIDS patients at death’s door pulling out of death spirals and regaining T-cells to offset the effects of the disease. Parkinson’s patients finding comfort and control. Auto-immune diseases being brought under control. I could literally go on and on. You can read a vast number of pages and watch countless hours of the science and modern understanding of cannabis – what it does, what it doesn’t do, what the actual facts about it are – and in the end, any reasonable person will have to admit that the scales are so drastically tipped in favor of not only a not-dangerous cannabis plant, but a cannabis plant that is potentially an incredible, all-natural, inexpensive medicine. In light of the overwhelming evidence, clinging to the ideas around a “dangerous-drug” marijuana is simply choosing to align with misinformed ignorance rather than conscientious and methodical investigation and rigorous study. And if you are still willing to stand against the medical efficacy of natural cannabis, understand that your choice of ignorance has huge ramifications. Sick people who could be helped are without relief. Breakthroughs in medicine and disease treatment/prevention are in holding patterns. People who would benefit from the consumption of cannabis forced to shun it as an option because of misinformed stigmas. It is all available to you for free – go check out the information and make an informed decision rather than settle for the lies spoon fed to you.

The second reason is a little cliché we suppose. But, we think in this case it is cliché because it actually is a logical, leading reason for repealing the prohibition on cannabis in the United States. You will often hear of the potential tax revenue as a reason for legalization. Great reason. Totally obvious. We do it with both tobacco and alcohol – both medically, scientifically and socially shown to be far more dangerous than marijuana – with enormous revenues which go toward much-needed social programs that especially help families and children. So marijuana taxes would be very positive and lucrative for sure. But do you understand how much money (your money FYI) our government spends each year losing the “war” on drugs? While it varies year to year, stats put it anywhere between 10 and 15 billion dollars per year – with the vast majority of those resources being used to fight marijuana, the least concerning substance on any list they have. Can you imagine if tomorrow our government had 15 billion dollars of spending cuts (if you are a Republican)? Or what about taking that budget and diverting the resources to social programs that impact the lives of those in poverty (if you are a Democrat)? Or what about tax rebates (if you are a Libertarian/dreamer) You see? Not only do we gain a windfall of revenue for the states and federal government by taxing it, but we can stop bleeding b-i-l-l-i-o-n-s of dollars fighting (and losing) against something that isn’t even an enemy.

What if it isn’t about people getting high? What if it is about people having access to something that can help them – whether it is marijuana, or governmental aid? And what if it turns out that cannabis is far, far less dangerous than either tobacco or alcohol (spoiler alert: this has already been scientifically and medically proven; check out this article for some more discussion on that topic) , and all the panic was caused by the propaganda the government chose for you in order to make sure you do what they want, and, of course, don’t do what they don’t want you to do. I believe in society, and in government. However, if the government is not serving the people – as in the case of the prohibition of marijuana – then the people need to start thinking for themselves and taking a stand. This is the source of all social revolution. And last time I check it is the basis of any democracy.